Space Race
"Space Race" is a nine-minute segment on the first episode of Season 2 of the 1986 Dennis the Menace cartoon series. According to a title card on a CBS broadcast, the segment was written by Mary Crawford, Alan Templeton and Michael Reaves. storyboard by Kevin Kaliher and directed by Randy Myers. Main characters in order by appearance *Dennis Mitchell *Joey McDonald *Margaret Wade *Benneth *Captain Rafar Minor characters in order by appearance *Robot *Alice Mitchell *Henry Mitchell Summary In a field, Dennis and Joey were hunting for bugs to add to Dennis's collection. Margaret came in, and complained about Dennis's bug collecting, but Dennis made a joking remark about Margaret in response, which angered Margaret, and she stormed away. Dennis and Joey were laughing, but then Margaret screamed and called for help. Dennis and Joey had to find out what was going on, and Joey mentioned she may have found a snake. But much to Dennis's surprise, Margaret was captured by a UFO. Joey said he was unable to spell, given his age, but Dennis mentioned it was a flying saucer. Dennis told Margaret to run away, but she said she was unable to and is paralyzed. Dennis and Joey had to run to Margaret to get her away from harm's way, and when they grabbed her, they attempted to run away, but then a beam came down on the kids, teleporting them into the UFO, which then headed into outer space. As the kids arrived at the telehub, Margaret wondered where they were, and Dennis told her they are inside the spacecraft. Margaret started to cry, as the kids made their descent down the stairs. Then, a robot came in and brought them to the control room, where they were introduced by a young alien named Benneth, and his father, Captain Rafar, who came in, about to explain a major environmental disaster that is about to happen. Dennis was desparate to go home so he could see his favorite TV show, "Captain Astro from Outer Space". Benneth's father told them they are unable to return to earth, and that the sun is producing a lot of heat, and was soon going to explode, which may lead to the end of the world. He mentioned that the kids are the last survivors of the world. Joey asked if they win something for that accomplishment. Rafar advised the kids that they will head to a sleep chamber which a robot will escort the kids into. When they arrived to the sleep chamber, Joey mentioned it's not bedtime yet. The kids refused to oblige, and Margaret had a way to talk the robots out of their actions - she demonstrated "The Dance of the Fairy Queen", and asked the robot to try it. The robot obliged, and as he was attempting it, he eventually tripped and crashed into one of the beds, causing it to doze off. The kids had decided to make their escape, which set off an alarm. Benneth discovered on his computer that the kids have escaped, and the kids ran to the spaceship that they arrived in. Dennis assumed that the spacecraft could be activated the same way Captain Astro did on TV - by pounding on the controls with a fist, which he did - and successfully made their escape. Benneth eventually discovered the kids were escaping, and the kids are on their way back to earth. But Benneth appeared on a computer screen in front of the kids, ordering the kids to turn back, and cannot escape, and warned the kids they are headed for an asteroid belt, in the midst of a meteor shower. Joey mentioned he had just taken a bath recently. Dennis was navigating the spacecraft, dodging meteors along his path, and Benneth was trying to chase the kids to make them surrender. But eventually, Benneth crashed into a meteor and was soon about to crash into Mars. Benneth mentioned it to Rafar, who in turn bid him farewell, realizing that his son was doomed. Dennis had celebrated their victory and were one step closer to heading back to earth, but Joey felt bad for Benneth, who needed to be rescued. Dennis decided to activate a beam that would send Benneth into the spacecraft that Dennis was in, and save his life. The kids admitted that rescuing others in harm's way is something that is normally done on Earth. Benneth realized he learned something new from the kids, and admitted it was a "strange custom". Meanwhile, back at Rafar's headquarters, Benneth's father had mentioned the sun is about to explode in about 212 Earth seconds. Benneth and the kids had arrived back to the headquarters, and discovered that Benneth was alive, safe and sound. Benneth had explained the situation and decided that Rafar should do a good deed in return. He made his decision - they decided to head to the sun and try to save the world. As they were headed to the sun, it was discovered on Rafar's computer that the sun was getting hotter and drying up a lot of plant life in the field they were abducted from. Then, they switch to a different screen, and discover Alice and Henry Mitchell calling out to Dennis and searching for him, unaware of what is about to happen. Benneth's father mentioned they seem distressed, and wondered why. Dennis mentioned they don't know where he and his friends are. Rafar decided to use more power and speed up the process of saving the Earth. They arrived to the sun, and Benneth had 12 seconds to save the sun and the world. Benneth push a button and he hoped their attempt works. A laser was fired towards the sun, and there were vibrations inside the ship, and the kids were being moved around by the vibrations, and the sun was eventually back to normal state, and Rafar declared that their mission was over and the sun and the world are saved. Needless to say, the kids celebrated their victory. Meanwhile, the spacecraft was back on Earth, in the same field where the kids were abducted, and a beam placed the kids back on solid ground. The two aliens flew back home, and Alice and Henry Mitchell were still calling out to Dennis. Then Dennis responded "Here I am!" Alice was frantic and furious, and questioned his whereabouts. Dennis jokingly answered "Did you say, 'where on Earth'?" and the kids laughed along. Alice and Henry looked very puzzled in the end. Goofs *When Margaret was crying, as she went down the steps from the spacecraft upon arrival, she appeared to be laughing. *When Benneth was about to crash into Mars, and Rafar said "So be it", "farewell", etc., Rafar's mouth was not moving when he was seen on Benneth's computer screen. Notes/Trivia *This segment can be interpreted as a lesson on the effects of climate change and what will eventually happen. This is not likely to happen in real life for billions of years, though climate change is really happening in this day and age. Category:Season 2 episodes Category:Dennis the Menace cartoon episodes Category:Segments Written by Mary Crawford Category:Segments Written by Alan Templeton Category:Segments Written by Michael Reaves Category:Segments Storyboard by Kevin Kaliher Category:Segments Directed by Randy Myers